"We believe that we should do everything possible to avoid escalation of tension, to make sure that there's an opportunity to have an earlier turnaround of the situation and to have an early start of the six-party talks," he said.

But North Korea's Foreign Ministry said there would be "no dialogue to discuss denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula."

'Soft power'

Korean specialist Dr. Leonid Petrov from the Australian National University says the UN Security Council's touch approach on North Korea is a mistake.

He told Radio Australia's Connect Asia that instead of making threats, the international community should use soft power on Pyongyang.

"The Security Council resolution is just a continuation of the previous mistake and approach to North Korea, simply pushing it to the corner.

"If someone is pushed to the corner, they have no other option but to fight back. And that's what North Koreans are trying to send a signal that they are not, they're going to be defiant, they're not going to accept the resolution and they're going to continue their nuclear missile development.

"So no moratorium should be expected. So that's the mistake I believe that has been repeated again...Engagements probably one of the options available, rather than threatening and cornering North Korea back further into this abyss."

Dr Petrov believes the Australian Government is well positioned to engage with North Korea, and says opening embassies in the respective countries would be a "good move".

"On the one side, we're being allies of the United States and the other side, we certainly have a history of positive relations with countries in the Far East.

"And also (Australia is) developing very strong relations with China, it really positions us with a bit more possibility of discussing the probability of economic saturation, exchange, education, exerting soft power on North Korea, rather than disengaging it as we used to do during the previous decade."

Last month's successful long-range rocket launch, the first to put a satellite in orbit, was a coup for North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-un.